Super Eagles: Okpala’s World Cup dream alive as DR Congo name controversial stars for playoffs

Former Super Eagles assistant coach Sylvanus Okpala has said he still believes Nigeria can qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Afrik-Foot reports.

Okpala’s comments arrive after the Super Eagles fumbled two chances at qualifying for the football showpiece and are only waiting for a favourable decision from world football governing body FIFA.

After failing on the pitch, Nigeria’s hopes of reaching the tournament were reignited after the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) submitted a petition against DR Congo. The complaint was based on alleged irregularities involving the Congolese national team during the decisive World Cup qualifying play-off between the two nations last year.

The Super Eagles lost that dramatic match on penalties after the game finished 1-1, a result that initially ended Nigeria’s hopes of reaching the tournament.

However, the NFF later argued that some DR Congo players should not have been eligible to play because their nationality switches had not been properly approved before the match.As a result, Nigeria decided to challenge the situation with FIFA. The case has now dragged on for several weeks, and a final decision is yet to be announced.

Despite the long wait and the uncertainty surrounding the issue, Okpala says he is still hopeful that things could turn in Nigeria’s favour.

“I am still hopeful that Nigeria can make it to the World Cup,” Okpala said as per Sports247.

“We are still waiting to see what the final decision will be. The international window is getting closer and the situation is still not clear. We just have to wait for the verdict and see what happens.”

Super Eagles: DR Congo continue World Cup preparations despite Nigeria’s protest

While Nigeria waits for FIFA’s final verdict, DR Congo have continued preparing for the next stage of the World Cup qualification process.

The Congolese football federation recently released its squad for the inter-confederation playoff tournament in Mexico, and the list has drawn attention because several players mentioned in Nigeria’s petition were included again.

Goalkeeper Matheu Epolo, one of the three players specifically named in Nigeria’s complaint, has been selected for the tournament. The other two players at the centre of the dispute, Michel-Ange Balikwisha and Mario Stroeykens, were not named in the squad, but several other players mentioned in the petition are still part of the team.

These include Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Axel Tuanzebe, Arthur Masuaku, Lionel Mpasi, Samuel Moutoussamy, Noah Sadiki, Ngal’ayel Mukau, Nathanaël Mbuku, and Cédric Bakambu.

Nigeria’s protest was based on the claim that some of these players were called up before FIFA officially approved their nationality switches to represent DR Congo.

Balikwisha and Stroeykens, who were born in Belgium and previously represented Belgium at youth level, received FIFA approval to change their football nationality only a few days before the decisive match against Nigeria on November 16.

Epolo, another Belgian-born player who also played for Belgium at youth level, had his nationality switch approved around the same period.

Nigeria argued that the players should not have been involved in the game if the administrative process had not been fully completed before the match. Despite the ongoing dispute, DR Congo appear to be moving forward with their World Cup plans. The team will face the winner of the playoff between Jamaica and New Caledonia in Guadalajara, Mexico, on March 31, 2026.

Victory in that match would secure one of the final two tickets to the 2026 World Cup, and potentially send the Central African nation back to the global tournament for the first time in 52 years.